A Fine Green Perch

I slipped through the patio door crack with a hasty sprint, determined to see what grew beyond the paving stones. Right in the corner sat a low wooden planter box packed with dark, damp soil and a cluster of fuzzy moss mounds. I clambered up the outer rim, digging my claws into the coarse wood grain, and trotted straight over to a rounded river pebble half-buried in the greenery. It wobbled slightly under my plastron when I climbed atop it, giving me an unbeatable panoramic view of the neighborhood trees.